Only about 300 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma) each year, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reports.

This week, Viv and her family will travel to Washington, D.C., so she can undergo experimental sonodynamic therapy. Viv had to shave her head to receive this trial ultrasound procedure — the thought of which made her “very nervous,” Brittany said.

So her family conducted a “Brave the Shave” event to bolster Viv’s spirits Sunday afternoon in the driveway of their Rockledge home.

Standing atop a pink stepstool, carefully wielding electric clippers, Viv helped shave the heads of more than a dozen of her supporters, including relatives and fellow children.

Then for the grand finale, Viv sat in the chair wearing a blue salon cape while attendees took turns snipping off her blonde shoulder-length hair. Adults bowed their heads and recited the Lord’s Prayer beforehand, and some wept among the crowd of about 40 well-wishers.

Source: Mom, supporters shave heads for Viera Elementary second grader with brain cancer